Container holder with adjustable depth

ABSTRACT

A container holder has a base, a container holding top positioned above the base, and a floor which is horizontally slideably mounted between the base and top at an intermediate position above the floor of the base and movable between a first position in which the sliding floor forms an upper floor support and a second position in which the floor of the base supports a container to increase the depth of the container holder.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a container holder and particularly onewith a sliding floor for adjusting the depth of the container holder.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Vehicle occupants and other users of container holders frequently desirea container holder which accommodates different sized containers. Thus,some individuals need to hold relatively small coffee or sodacontainers, while others prefer to hold large sized containers, such as20 oz. beverages sold by fast food restaurants and others. Typically,container holders have sides which will accommodate different diametercontainers and the height is the issue. In order to accommodatedifferent containers, a variety of container holders have been devisedwhich include vertically movable spring-loaded and latched floors whichare somewhat complicated and, therefore, expensive. Also, they are proneto failure and inoperability if a spillage of fluid occurs. Thus, thereremains a need for a container holder which provides a variable heightsupport for containers which is easy to operate, inexpensive tomanufacture, and reliable in use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the present invention, the container holderof the present invention satisfies this need by providing a base with afloor, a container holding top having a generally cylindrical wall withan open bottom positioned above the base. A sliding floor ishorizontally slideably mounted between the base and top at anintermediate position above the floor of the base and movable betweenfirst and second positions. In a first position, the sliding floor formsan upper floor support, and, in the second position, the floor of thebase supports a container to increase the depth of the container holder.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, a dual container holder isprovided in which one side has fixed depth and the opposite side has avariable depth. This is achieved by providing a horizontal sliding floorwhich is slideably positioned on the container holder to slide betweenfirst and second positions to selectively increase the depth of thevariable depth container holder.

A container holder so-designed can be placed in a vehicle center consoleor in an armrest, or in a furniture armrest, or anywhere a containerholder with an adjustable depth is desired. By providing a sliding floorto adjust the depth of the container holder, a relatively inexpensivedesign is achieved which is reliable and easy for the operator to use.

These and other aspects, objects, and features of the present inventionwill be understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art uponstudying the following specification, claims, and appended drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the container holder of the presentinvention, shown with the sliding floor in a first position;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary top plan view of the container holder of thepresent invention, shown with the sliding floor in a second position toincrease the depth of the container holder on the left side as viewed inthis figure;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the components of thecontainer holder shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective assembled view of the base and sliding floor, asseen in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of the container holder withthe sliding floor in the position shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of the container holder withthe sliding floor shown in the position of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a perspective assembled view of the container holder in theposition shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the container holder taken alongsection lines VIII-VIII of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 9 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the container holder takenalong section lines IX-IX of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring initially to FIGS. 1-3, there is shown a container holder 10embodying the present invention. The container holder can be mounted toa vehicle for use by the driver or occupants in a center console (frontor rear) or an armrest (front or rear), or in the armrest of a piece ofhousehold furniture, or wherever an adjustable depth container holder isdesired. For purposes of illustration, the container holder 10 shown inthe drawings is mounted to a vehicle center console 12 representedschematically in FIGS. 1 and 2. The container holder 10 is mountedlaterally, such that the adjustable depth side (shown to the left inthese figures) is on the driver's side. It is to be understood, however,that the container holder 10 can be oriented in a reversed position oralong a longitudinal axis as opposed to laterally.

The container holder comprises three sections, as seen in FIG. 3,including a base 20, a sliding floor 40, and a top 60, which aresandwiched together as seen in FIGS. 5-7 in a manner allowing thesliding floor 40 to move from a first position shown in FIG. 1 to asecond position shown in FIG. 2. Although the container holder shown inthese figures includes a dual container holder with one side having afixed depth and the opposite side having a variable depth, it is to beunderstood that a single container holder can be made which has thevariable depth feature of this invention.

The base 20 of container holder 10, as best seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, is agenerally rectangular structure having a floor 22, side walls 24 and 26,a generally rectangular end wall 28 and a curved opposite end wall 30.Extending upwardly from sides 24 and 26 are mounting flanges 21 and 23with apertures 25 and 27 for securing the base to the top 60 utilizingconventional fasteners. The junction of the side walls 24, 26 to theflanges 21, 23 each include a horizontally extending guide slot 32,which includes partially obstructing tabs 33 near opposite ends of slots32 into which guide tabs 42 of sliding floor 40 extend, as shown in FIG.4. The upper surface 50 of the sliding floor has overhanging edge 52 onwhich tabs 42 are mounted with edge 52 riding on and supported by theupper edges 29 of base 20, as illustrated in FIG. 4. Floor 22 of base 20includes at least one and preferably a plurality of spaced, parallelgrooves 34 which receive downwardly projecting legs 44 of sliding floor40, as perhaps best seen in FIGS. 6 and 9. The legs 44 together withgrooves 34 and guide slot 32 and tabs 42 provide smooth guided movementof the sliding floor 40 between the left most first position (shown inFIG. 1) to the right most second position (shown in FIG. 2). The tabs 33and 42 interact to provide the user a tactile feel that the slidingfloor 40 has reached an end position as well as holding the floor in aposition shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The sliding floor 40 likewise isgenerally rectangular having side walls 45, a generally rectangular endwall 46, and a curved end wall 48 which mates with the curvature of wall30 of base 20.

The sliding floor 40 includes a resilient rubber compound pad 54covering the top 50 and an indentation 56 for sliding the floor in ahorizontal plane between a first position shown in FIG. 1 to a secondposition in FIG. 2, increasing the depth of the container holderaperture 70. When moved to the position, as seen in FIGS. 2 and 4, thesliding floor 40 includes a finger tab 58 which allows the user to movethe floor in a direction indicated by arrow A in FIG. 2 toward theposition shown in FIG. 1.

The top 60 defines a generally rectangular frame 62 with mounting tabs64 on the forward and rearward edges for securing the base 20 to the top60 in sufficient spaced relationship, such that sliding floor 40 caneasily move between the positions shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. The tabs64 include apertures 63 for receiving conventional fasteners forcoupling the base to the top as well as securing the container holderassembly so defined to the vehicle in a conventional manner. The topincludes a first aperture 66 with generally cylindrical side walls 67,which are slightly conically tapered to receive typically shapedcontainers. A container-receiving aperture has a fixed depth floor 68therein which, as seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, is located on the passengerside. On the driver's side, the frame 62 includes an aperture 70 with agenerally cylindrical side wall 71 and an open bottom 72 (FIG. 3) whichexposes the sliding floor 40 when the floor is in a left most positiondefining a shallower container holder. Side wall 71 is also slightlytapered inwardly from top to bottom to receive typically shapedcontainers. When moved to the position shown in FIG. 2, opening 72exposes the floor 22 of the underlying base 20, thereby increasing thedepth of the container holder by an amount equal to the height of walls24 and 26 of the base. The circular open bottom 72 of the cylindricalcontainer holder is vertically spaced above floor 22 of base 20 adistance “d” (FIG. 8) typically of between 1-2-inches. The floor 68 offixed depth container holder aperture 66 includes a rubber compound pad69 to provide frictional engagement with the bottom of a containerplaced therein. The cylindrical side wall 71 of aperture 70 has adiameter slightly larger than that of aperture 66.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the base 20 was made of apolymeric material, such as polypropylene, while the sliding floor 40was also made of a polymeric material, such as ABS or a polypropylene.Finally, the top 60 likewise was made of a polymeric material, such asABS or polypropylene. As best seen in FIG. 9, the floor 22 of the baseis canted downwardly from the fixed container holder side toward theadjustable depth container holder side 70 by an angle a of about 5° toabout 10°, such that, if any spillage occurs in the container holder, itwill drain to the corner of the base and can be easily absorbed with atowel when the sliding floor 40 is moved to a position shown in FIG. 2.The use of polypropylene for the base provides a lubricious polymericinterface between the horizontally sliding floor 40 and the base 20 toease the sliding movement of the floor as the container holder is usedfor different sized containers.

It is to be understood that variations and modifications can be made onthe aforementioned structure without departing from the concepts of thepresent invention, and further it is to be understood that such conceptsare intended to be covered by the following claims unless these claimsby their language expressly state otherwise.

We claim:
 1. A container holder with adjustable depth comprising: a basehaving a floor; a top having a container-receiving opening defined by acylindrical sidewall and an open bottom spaced vertically from saidfloor of said base; and a sliding floor positioned between said base andsaid top and movable between first and second positions to selectivelyenclose said open bottom of said container-receiving opening.
 2. Thecontainer holder as defined in claim 1 wherein said top includes asecond container-receiving opening defined by a cylindrical sidewall andan enclosed bottom, wherein said second container opening is positionedadjacent said first named container-receiving opening.
 3. The containerholder as defined in claim 2 wherein said sliding floor is movablebetween said first position enclosing said open bottom of said firstnamed container-receiving opening and a second position under saidenclosed bottom of said second container opening.
 4. The containerholder as defined in claim 1 wherein said base includes a pair ofspaced-apart walls having guide slots formed therein and wherein saidsliding floor extends between said walls and includes tabs extending insaid guide slots for guiding the sliding floor movement.
 5. Thecontainer holder as defined in claim 4 wherein said guide slots includetabs near opposite ends of said slots which partially engage said tabsof said sliding floor to releasably hold said floor in first and secondpositions.
 6. The container holder as defined in claim 5 wherein saidwalls of said base have upper edges and said floor has outwardlyextending edges which rest upon and slide upon said upper edges of saidwalls of said base.
 7. The container holder as defined in claim 1wherein said floor of said base includes at least one groove, and saidsliding floor includes at least one downwardly extending leg whichslideably engages said groove of said base to support sliding movementof said floor and provide support for a container engaging said slidingfloor when in said first position.
 8. The container holder as defined inclaim 1 wherein said floor of said base includes a plurality of parallelspaced-apart grooves, and said sliding floor includes a plurality ofdownwardly extending legs which slideably engage said grooves of saidbase to support sliding movement of said floor and provide support for acontainer engaging said sliding floor when in said first position. 9.The container holder as defined in claim 1 wherein said floor has anupper surface including an indentation allowing a user to slide saidsliding floor between said first position toward said second position.10. The container holder as defined in claim 9 wherein said slidingfloor includes a finger tab which can be grasped by a user to move saidsliding floor from said second position toward said first position. 11.The container holder as defined in claim 1 wherein said floor of saidbase is inclined.
 12. A container holder with adjustable depthcomprising: a base having a floor and side walls having guide slotsformed therein; a top having a container-receiving opening defined by acylindrical sidewall and an open bottom spaced vertically from saidfloor of said base; and a sliding floor positioned between said base andsaid top and extending between said walls of said base, said slidingfloor including tabs extending in said guide slots for guiding thesliding floor movement between first and second positions to selectivelyenclose said open bottom of said container-receiving opening.
 13. Thecontainer holder as defined in claim 12 wherein said guide slots includetabs near opposite ends of said slots which partially engage said tabsof said sliding floor to releasably hold said floor in first and secondpositions.
 14. The container holder as defined in claim 13 wherein saidwalls of said base have upper edges and said floor has outwardlyextending edges which rest upon and slide upon said upper edges of saidwalls of said base.
 15. The container holder as defined in claim 14wherein said floor of said base includes a plurality of parallelspaced-apart grooves, and said sliding floor includes a plurality ofdownwardly extending legs which slideably engage said grooves of saidbase to support sliding movement of said floor and provide support for acontainer engaging said sliding floor when in said first position. 16.The container holder as defined in claim 15 wherein said floor of saidbase is inclined at an angle of from 5° to 10°.
 17. A container holderwith adjustable depth comprising: a base having a floor; a top having afirst container-receiving opening defined by a cylindrical sidewall andan open bottom spaced vertically from said floor of said base and asecond container-receiving opening defined by a cylindrical side walland enclosed bottom, said second container-receiving opening positionedadjacent said first container-receiving opening; and a sliding floorpositioned between said base and said top and movable between first andsecond positions to selectively enclose said open bottom of saidcontainer-receiving opening when in said first position and underlyingsaid second container-receiving opening when in said second position.18. The container holder as defined in claim 17 wherein said baseincludes a pair of spaced-apart walls having guide slots formed thereinand wherein said sliding floor extends between said walls and includestabs extending in said guide slots for guiding the sliding floormovement.
 19. The container holder as defined in claim 18 wherein saidguide slots include tabs near opposite ends of said slots whichpartially engage said tabs of said sliding floor to releasably hold saidfloor in first and second positions.
 20. The container holder as definedin claim 19 wherein said walls of said base have upper edges and saidfloor has outwardly extending edges which rest upon and slide upon saidupper edges of said walls of said base, and wherein said floor of saidbase is inclined at an angle of from 5° to 10°.